SECTION THREE - THE ENDING OF GLAMOUR - Part 2

The route which the
revelation then follows is the same in both cases, and illusion overtakes both
forms of revelation but—and here is a point upon which I would ask you to
reflect—there is a little less illusion gathered around the revelations of
science than has gathered around the revelations of what humanity calls the
more definitely spiritual truths. One reason lies in the fact that the last
great spiritual revelation, given by the Christ, was given two thousand years
ago, and the development of man's mind and his responsiveness to truth has
grown greatly since that time. Again, the revelations of science are largely
the result of group tension, eventually focussed in one intuitive recipient,
and the revelation is thereby protected.

Today, as humanity awaits the
revelation which will embody the thoughts and dreams and constructive goal of
the New Age, the demand comes for the first time from a large group of
intuitively inclined people. I said not intuitives, brother of old. This group
is now so large and its focus is now so real and its demand so loud that it is
succeeding in focussing the massed intent of the people. Therefore, whatever
revelation may emerge in the immediate future will be better "protected by
the spirit of understanding" than any previous one. This is the
significance of the words of the New Testament, "every eye shall
see Him"; humanity as a whole will recognise the revealing One. In
past ages the Messenger from on High was only recognised by and known to a mere
handful of men, and it took decades and sometimes centuries for His message to
penetrate into the hearts of humanity.

[190]

The stress of the times also
and the development of the sense of proportion, plus an enforced return to
simplicity of living and requirements may save the coming revelation from too
swift and quick submergence in the fire of the Great Illusion.

It will be apparent to you
from the above that the mode of handling world affairs, states of consciousness
and conditions in the three worlds is one in which the disciple and initiate
work from above downwards. The method is in reality a repetition of the involutionary
arc in which—like the Creator, from a vantage point of exterior
direction—energy, force and forces are directed into the world of phenomena and
produce definite effects upon the substance of the three planes. This is a
point which should be most carefully remembered; and it is for this reason that
the Technique of the Presence must always be employed, prior to all other
techniques. It establishes contact with the directing spiritual Agent and
enables the disciple to assume the attitude of the detached Observer and an
agent of the Plan. When this technique is correctly followed, it brings the
intuition into play and the world of meaning (lying behind the world of
phenomena) stands revealed, thereby dispelling illusion. Truth, as it is, is
seen and known. Forms in the outer world of phenomena (outer from the angle of
the soul and therefore encompassing the three worlds of our familiar daily
living) are seen to be but symbols of an inward and spiritual Reality.

2. THE TECHNIQUE OF LIGHT

We come now to the
consideration of the next development and service to be rendered through the
medium of another technique.

This theme is so vast and
there is so much literature to be found in all the world Scriptures,
commentaries and theological [191] dissertations
on the subject of Light that the simple truth and a few basic principles are
lost to sight in a welter of words.

In my various books I have
given much anent this subject and in the book, The Light of the Soul,
which I wrote in collaboration with A.A.B., an effort was made to indicate the
nature of the light of the soul. The key to this technique is to be found in
the words: In that Light shall we see LIGHT. A simple paraphrase of these
apparently abstract and symbolic words could be given as follows: When the
disciple has found that lighted centre within himself and can walk in its
radiating light, he is then in a position (or in a state of consciousness, if
you prefer) wherein he becomes aware of the light within all forms and atoms.
The inner world of reality stands visible to him as light-substance (a
different thing to the Reality, revealed by the intuition). He can then become
an efficient cooperator with the Plan because the world of psychic meaning becomes
real to him and he knows what should be done to dispel glamour. It might be
stated that this process of bringing light into dark places falls naturally
into three stages:

1. The stage wherein the
beginner and the aspirant endeavour to eradicate glamour out of their own life
by the use of the light of the mind. The light of knowledge is a major
dispelling agent in the earlier phases of the task and effectively eliminates
the various glamours which veil the truth from the aspirant.

2. The stage wherein the
aspirant and disciple work with the light of the soul. This is the light of
wisdom which is the interpreted result of long experience, and this streams
forth, blending with the light of knowledge.

3. The stage wherein the
disciple and the initiate work with the light of the intuition. It is
through the blended [192] medium of the
light of knowledge (personality light) and the light of wisdom (soul light)
that the Light is seen, known and appropriated. This light puts out the lesser
lights through the pure radiance of its power.

You have therefore the light
of knowledge, the light of wisdom and the light of the intuition, and these are
three definite stages or aspects of the One Light. They correspond to the
physical Sun, the heart of the Sun, and the Central Spiritual Sun. In this last
sentence you have the clue and the key to the relation of man to the Logos.

These stages and their
corresponding techniques are apt to be misunderstood if the student fails to
remember that between them lie no real lines of demarcation but only a constant
overlapping, a cyclic development and a process of fusion which is most
confusing to beginners. Just as the result of innate reaction to environment
produces the apparatus needed to contact that environment, so the unfoldment of
the powers which these techniques serve produces modes of contact with soul and
spiritual environments. Each of these techniques is related to a new
environment; each of them eventually develops power in the initiate or disciple
which can be used in the service of humanity and in higher spheres of divine
activity; each is related to the other techniques, and each releases the
disciple into a conscious relationship with a new environment, new states of
awareness and new fields of service. For instance:

1. The Technique of the
Presence, when successfully followed,
enables the intuition to flow in and to supersede the activity of the
rationalising mind and to dispel illusion, substituting for that illusion
divine ideas, formulated into concepts which we call ideals. The Masters, it
should be remembered, only use the mind for two activities:

[193]

a. To reach the minds of
Their disciples and attract aspirants through the medium of an instrument
similar to the disciple's mind.

b. To create thoughtforms on
concrete levels which can embody these divine ideas. The directing Agent, the
Angel of the Presence, produces the power to create in this manner, and this we
call the result of the intuition—idea or truth, its perception and its
reproduction.

2. The Technique of Light is more closely related to the mind and signifies the
method whereby the illumination which flows from the soul (whose nature is
light) can irradiate not only ideals but life, circumstances and events,
revealing the cause and the meaning of the experience. When the power of the
disciple to illumine is grasped, he has taken the first step towards dispelling
glamour; and just as the technique of the Presence becomes effective upon the
mental plane, so this technique produces powers which can become effective on
the astral plane and eventually bring about the dissipation and the
disappearance of that plane.

3. The Technique of Indifference renders ineffective or neutralises the hold of
substance over the life or spirit, functioning in the three worlds, for soul is
the evidence of life.

In connection, therefore,
with this second technique, I would like to take some words out of the Bible,
substituting the word "light" for the word "faith." I give
you this definition: Light is the substance of things hoped for, the
evidence of things not seen. This is perhaps one of the most occult
definitions of the light of the world that has yet been given and its true
meaning is intended to be revealed in the next two generations. The word
"faith" is a good [194] instance of the
method of rendering "blind" some of the ancient truths so that their
significance may not be prematurely revealed. Light and substance are
synonymous terms. Soul and light are equally so, and in this equality of
idea—light, substance, soul—you have the key to fusion and to the at-one-ment
which Christ expressed so fully for us in His life on Earth.

When, therefore, students and
aspirants have made progress in soul contact, they have taken one of the first
important steps towards the comprehension of light and its uses. They must
however be careful not to confuse the light which they can bring to bear on
life, circumstance, events, and on environment with the intuition. The light
with which we are concerned expresses itself in the three worlds and reveals
form and forms, their reaction and effects, their glamour and attractive
appeal, and their power to delude and imprison consciousness. The light
concerned is soul light, illuminating the mind and bringing about revelation of
the world of forms in which that life is immersed.

The intuition is concerned
with nothing whatsoever in the three worlds of human experience but only with
the perceptions of the Spiritual Triad and with the world of ideas. The
intuition is to the world of meaning what the mind is to the three worlds of
experience. It produces understanding just as the light of soul produces
knowledge, through the medium of that experience. Knowledge is not a purely
mental reaction but is something which is found on all levels and is
instinctual in some form in all kingdoms. This is axiomatic. The five senses bring
physical plane knowledge; psychic sensitivity brings a knowledge of the astral
plane; the mind brings intellectual perception, but all three are aspects of
the light of knowledge (coming from the soul) as it informs its vehicles of
expression in the vast threefold [195] environment
in which it chooses to imprison itself for purposes of development.

On a higher turn of the
spiral, the intuition is the expression of the threefold Spiritual Triad,
placing it in relation to the higher levels of divine expression; it is a
result of the life of the Monad—an energy which carries revelation of divine
purpose. It is in the world of this divine revelation that the disciple learns
eventually to work and in which the initiate consciously functions. Of this higher
experience, the active life of the three worlds is a distorted expression but
constitutes also the training ground in which capacity to live the initiate
life of intuitional perception and to serve the Plan is slowly developed.
These distinctions (in time and space, because all distinctions are part of the
great illusion, though necessary and inevitable when the mind controls) must be
carefully considered. Disciples will reach a point in their development where
they will know whether they are reacting to the light of the soul or to the
intuitional perception of the Triad. They will then come to the point where
they will realise that intuitive perception—as they call it—is only the
reaction of the illumined personality to the identification tendency of the
Triad. But these concepts are beyond the grasp of the average man because
fusion and identification are by no means the same.

The rules for the Technique
of Light have been adequately laid down in the Raja Yoga system of Patanjali,
of which the five stages of Concentration, Meditation, Contemplation,
Illumination, and Inspiration are illustrative; these, in their turn, must be
parallelled by a following of the Five Rules and the Five Commandments. I would
ask you to study these. They, in their turn, produce the many results in
psychic sensitivity, of which hierarchical contact, illumination, service and
discipline are descriptive and, finally, the [196] stage
of "isolated unity," which is the paradoxical term used by Patanjali
to describe the inner life of the initiate.

Most of what I have said
above is well known to all aspirants whether they study the Raja Yoga teaching
of India or the life of practical mysticism as laid down by such mystics as
Meister Eckhart and the more mentally polarised modern esotericist. These
latter went beyond the mystical vision by arriving at fusion. I need not
enlarge on this. It is the higher stage of at-one-ment to which all true
mystics bear witness.

What does concern us here is
how this light is recognised, appropriated and used in order to dispel glamour
and render a deeply esoteric service to the world. It might be said that the
inner light is like a searchlight, swinging out into the world of glamour and
of human struggle from what one Master has called "the pedestal of the
soul and the spiritual tower or beacon." These terms convey the idea of
altitude and of distance which are so characteristic of the mystical approach.
Power to use this light as a dissipating agent only comes when these symbols
are dropped and the server begins to regard himself as the light and as
the irradiating centre. Herein lies the reason for some of the technicalities
of the occult science. The esotericist knows that in every atom of his body is
to be found a point of light. He knows that the nature of the soul is light.
For aeons, he walks by means of the light engendered within his vehicles, by
the light within the atomic substance of his body and is, therefore, guided by
the light of matter. Later, he discovers the light of the soul. Later still, he
learns to fuse and blend soul light and material light. Then he shines forth as
a Light bearer, the purified light of matter and the light of the soul being
blended and focussed. The use of this focussed light as it dispels individual
glamour teaches the disciples the early stages of the technique which will
dispel [197] group glamour and eventually world glamour, and this
is the next point with which we will deal.

The theme with which we are
dealing—the light of the soul as it dissipates glamour in the three worlds—is
the most practical and useful and needed subject for study to be found today:
it concerns the astral plane, and the service to be rendered is vital and
timely. The ridding of the world of the individual and the world of humanity as
a whole of the all-enveloping glamour which holds humanity in thrall is an
essential requirement for the race. The new era which will open up before
mankind at the close of the war will be distinguished by its mental
polarisation and consequent freedom from glamour; then illusion will for a time
control until the intuition is more fully developed. This illusion will produce
vastly different results to those which follow when men live and work in the
midst of glamour. The second characteristic of the new era will be the
scientific approach to the entire problem of glamour which will then be
recognised for what it is and will be scientifically dissipated by the use of
the illumined minds of groups, working in unison for just that purpose.

The proposition, therefore,
which I am laying before you (who are the aspirants and the disciples of the
world) is the possibility of a definite world service. Groups will eventually
be formed of those who are working at the dissipation of glamour in their
individual lives and who are doing so not so much in order to achieve their own
liberation but with the special objective of ridding the astral plane of its
significant glamours. They will work unitedly on some major phase of world
glamour by the power of their individual illumined minds; unitedly they will
turn "the searchlight of the mind, reflecting the light of the sun but at
the same time radiating its own inner light upon the mists and fogs of Earth,
for in these mists and fogs all men stumble. [198] Within
the lighted sphere of the focussed radiant light, reality will issue forth
triumphant."

It is interesting to note
that the most ancient prayer in the world refers to the three aspects of
glamour, and it is for these that the three techniques must be used to make
release and progress possible. As you know, this prayer runs as follows
(Brihadaranyaki Upanishad I, 3, 28):

"Lead us, O Lord, from
darkness to light; from the unreal to the real; from death to
immortality."

"Lead us from
darkness to light" refers to the
mind as it becomes eventually illumined by the light of the intuition; this
illumination is brought about by the means of the Technique of the Presence
from Whom the light shines. This is the mediating factor producing the
Transfiguration of the personality, and a centre of radiant light upon the
mental plane. This statement is true whether one is speaking of an individual
or of that focal point of light which is formed by the mental unity and the
clear thinking of advanced humanity. These, through the power of their unified
minds, will succeed in ridding the world of some aspects of the Great Illusion.

"Lead us from the
unreal to the Real" has specific
relation to the astral plane and its all-encompassing glamours. These glamours
embody the unreal and present them to the prisoners of the astral plane,
leading them to mistake them for the Reality. This imprisonment by glamour can
be ended by the activity of the Technique of Light, utilised by those who
work—in group formation—for the dissipation of glamour and for the emergence in
the consciousness of men of a clear conception and recognition of the nature of
Reality.

This particular work of
dissipation is our immediate theme. It is of vital importance that those who
recognise [199]
the open door to the future through
which all men must pass should begin to carry forward this work. Only thus can
humanity be helped to leave behind the errors, the glamours and the failures of
the past. It is this technique which brings freedom from glamour and which can
transform human living, and so bring in the new civilisation and culture. This
dissipation can be carried forward by disciples in all parts of the planet,
aided by the world aspirants; it will, however, be primarily the work of those
whose ray focus makes astral living the line of least resistance and who have
learnt or are learning to dominate it by the power of thought and mental light.
These are the sixth ray people in the first instance, aided by aspirants and
disciples upon the second and fourth rays.

In time and space, this task
will be first of all instituted and controlled in group formation only by
aspirants whose soul or personality rays are the sixth or by those whose astral
bodies are conditioned by the sixth ray. When they have grasped the nature of
the work to be done and "fanatically adopted the technique of light in the
service of the race," their work will be completed by second ray
disciples, working from the Ashrams of those Masters Who take disciples. The
work done by these two groups will be finally revealed (and at a much later
date) by those aspirants and disciples who will swing into astral activity when
the fourth ray again begins to manifest. Therefore, the work of dissipating
glamour is carried forward by those who come out into manifestation along the
lines of energy which embody the second, fourth and sixth rays. I emphasise
this as disciples frequently undertake tasks for which they are not
particularly fitted and whose rays do not aid them in accomplishment and
sometimes prevent that accomplishment.

[200]

The whole subject is related
to consciousness, to the second aspect, and concerns the forms through which
mankind becomes progressively aware. Glamour is caused by the recognition of
that which man has himself created and, as has occultly been said, "Man
only becomes aware of reality when he has destroyed that which he has himself
created." These forms fall into two major groups:

1. Those forms which are of
very ancient origin and which are the result of human activity, human thinking
and of human error. They embrace all the forms which the desire nature
of man has created down the ages and are the nebulous substance of
glamour—nebulous from the physical angle but dense from the angle of the astral
plane. They are that which provides the incentive behind all striving and
activity upon the outer plane as man attempts to satisfy desire. From these
forms the individual aspirant has ever to rid himself, emerging after so doing
through that gate which we call the second initiation into a wider
consciousness.

2. Those forms which are
being constantly created and ceaselessly produced in response to the
aspirational nature of humanity and which provide the enticements which
lead the man along towards high personal achievement in the first instance and
spiritual achievement later. They have in them the indications of the new and
the possible. These likewise (strange as it may seem) constitute a glamour, for
they are temporary and illusory and must not be permitted to hide the Real.
That Reality will precipitate itself at the right moment once the higher light
pours in. They are indicative of the Real and are often mistaken for the Real;
they are in conflict with the old thoughts and desires of the past and must
eventually give place to the factual presence of the [201] Real. They provide (in times of crisis) the great
testing for all aspirants and disciples, evoking the subtlest kind of
discrimination; but once that testing has been triumphantly passed, then can
the task of dissipating both these types of glamour be given to the disciple
and aspirant, with the emphasis upon the immediate need or any particular and
current world glamour.

It will be apparent to you,
therefore, that groups working consciously at the service of dissipating
glamour will have the following characteristics:

1. They will be composed of
sixth ray aspirants and disciples, aided by second ray spiritual workers.

2. They will be formed of
those who:

a. Are learning or have
learnt to dissipate their own individual glamours and can bring understanding
to the task.

b. Are focussed upon the
mental plane and have, therefore, some measure of mental illumination. They are
mastering the Technique of Light.

c. Are aware of the nature of
the glamours which they are attempting to dissipate and can use the illumined
mind as a searchlight.

3. They will count among
their numbers those who (occultly speaking) have the following powers in
process of rapid development:

a. The power not only to
recognise glamour for what it is, but to discriminate between the various and
many types of glamour.

b. The power to appropriate
the light, absorbing it into themselves and then consciously and scientifically
project it into the world of glamour. The [202] Masters,
the higher initiates and the world disciples do this alone, if need be, and
require not the protection of the group or the aid of the light of the group
members.

c. The power to use the light
not only through absorption and projection but also by a conscious use of the
will, carrying energy upon the beam of projected light. To this they add a
persistent and steady focus. This beam, thus projected, has a twofold use: It
works expulsively and dynamically, much as a strong wind blows away or
dissipates a dense fog or as the rays of the sun dry up and absorb the mist. It
acts also as a beam along which that which is new and a part of the divine
intention can enter. The new ideas and the desired ideals can come in "on
the beam," just as the beam directs and brings in the airplanes to a
desired landing place.

a. The Dissipation of Individual Glamour

Let us first of all consider
the mode by which the individual aspirant can succeed in dissipating the
glamours which have for ages conditioned his life in the three worlds. He has
been dominated by desire for four-fifths of his incarnated experience. He has
begun to transmute his desire into aspiration and to seek—with all the
devotion, emotion and longing of which he is capable—for realisation. It is
then that he becomes aware of the appalling nature of the glamours in which he
automatically and normally walks. Glamour arose when man recognised and
registered desire as an incentive, thus demonstrating his humanity and his
distinction from the animal, because it is the mind which reveals the existence
of desire. The instinctual effort to satisfy desire—innate and inherent in the
lower nature—gave [203] place to planned
efforts to meet desire, involving the directive use of the mind. Thus the line
of demarcation between the animal and the human has become increasingly
apparent and the first and basic expression of pure selfishness appeared aeons
ago. Later, as evolution proceeded and desire shifted from one planned
satisfaction to another, it began to take on a less physical aspect and men
sought pleasure in emotional experience and in its dramatisation: this led to
the establishment of the drama as its first artistic expression; by means of
this, down the ages, man has supplemented individual emotional and dramatic
living with a vicarious submergence in it, thus exteriorising himself and
supplementing his personal dramas, desires, and objectives with those which
were developed by means of the creative imagination, thus laying the foundation
for the recognition—intelligent and real—of the part in relation to the whole.
Thus from earliest Atlantean times the foundation was laid for the unfoldment
of the sense of mystical duality through the various stages of an
anthropomorphic recognition of deity to the recognition of the real in man
himself, until finally we arrive at the proposition which faces the disciple.
Then the Dweller on the Threshold confronts the Angel of the Presence and the
last and major conflict is fought out.

This dualistic consciousness
culminates at the time of the third initiation in the final fight between the
pairs of opposites and the triumphant victory of the Angel—the embodiment of
the Forces of Good in the individual, in the group and in humanity. Then
dualism and the desire for that which is material and not oneself (as
identified with the Whole) dies out. Unity and the "life more abundantly"
is achieved.

The process followed by the
disciple who is consciously working at the dissipation of glamour in his life
can be [204] divided into four stages to which the following
definitions can be given:

1. The stage of
recognition of the glamour or
glamours which hide the Real. These glamours are dependent in any particular
life crisis upon the ray of the personality.

2. The stage of focussing the disciple's consciousness upon the mental plane
and the gathering of the light to that point of focus so that the illumination
is clear, the work to be done is plainly seen, and the searchlight of the mind
is directed upon the glamour which it is intended should be dissipated.

3. The stage of direction. This involves the steady pouring of the light (under
intelligent direction) into the dark places of the astral plane, remembering
that the light will enable the disciple to do two things:

a. Dissipate the glamour—a
satisfying experience.

b. See the Real—a terrifying
experience, brother of mine.

4. The stage of
identification with the Real as it is
contacted after the dissipation of the glamour. In the added light which is now
available, there will be a further recognition of still subtler glamours which
in their turn must be dissipated.

This process of recognition,
focussing, dissipation and consequent revelation goes on continually from the
time a disciple treads the Path of Accepted Discipleship until the third
initiation.

The clue to all success in
this process is, therefore, connected with meditation and the holding of the
mind steady in the light. Only through steadiness can the beam of light be
formed, intensified, focussed and projected and then—[205] at the right moment—withdrawn. I cannot here enter
upon an elucidation of the process of meditation, based on the right
understanding of the nature of concentration. I have written much upon the
subject and the Raja Yoga discipline is well known. Mental concentration and
control is now the ordinary theme of all instructions given by educators and
enlightened parents. It is difficult for the average person today to realise
that there was a time when such phrases as "Use your mind" or
"If you will only think" or "A little mental control on your
part would be useful" were totally unknown because the mind was so little
developed. It was then only recognised as a functioning factor by those with
initiate consciousness. The Path of Evolution is in fact the path of
recognitions, leading to revelation. The whole process of evolution is
initiatory in character, leading from one expansion of consciousness to another
until the worlds of the formless and of form stand revealed in the light which
the initiate generates and in which he walks. These lights are varied and
variously revealing; there is:

1. The light of matter
itself, found in every atom of substance.

2. The light of the vital or
etheric vehicle—a light which is the reflection of the One Light because it
unifies the three types of light within the three worlds.

3. The light of the instinct.

4. The light of the intellect
or the light of knowledge.

5. The light of the soul.

6. The light of the
intuition.

From light to light we pass,
from revelation to revelation until we pass out of the realm of light into the
realm of life which is, as yet to us, pure darkness.

It will be obvious to you
that this increasing light brings with it a constantly developing series of
revelations which, [206] like all else in
the world of human experience, unfolds before the eyes first of all the world
of forms, then the world of ideals, then the nature of the soul, of ideas and
of divinity. I am choosing but a few of the words which embody the revelation
and are symbolic of its character. But all these revelations constitute one
great unified revelation which is slowly unfolding before the eyes of humanity.
The light of the personal lower self reveals to man the world of form, of
matter, of instinct, of desire and of mind; the light of the soul reveals the
nature of the relation of these forms of life to the world of the formless and
of the conflict between the real and the unreal. The light of the intuition
unfolds before the vision of the soul within the personality, the nature
of God and the unity of the Whole. The restlessness of material desire, seeking
its satisfaction in the three worlds, eventually gives place to aspiration
towards soul contact and soul life. This in its turn is recognised as a step
towards those great fundamental experiences to which we give the names of the
five major initiations. These reveal to man the hitherto unrealised fact of his
non-separateness and of the relation of his individual will to the divine will.

We are now going to study the
mode whereby these phases of work upon the astral plane are carried forward:
first, the individual learns to use the light of the mind, generated by the
soul as it becomes closely related to the personality and impulsed by the
intuition. By means of this light the disciple learns to dissipate his personal
and private glamours. I mention this because I would have you appreciate the
extent of the task a man undertakes when he consciously sets about ridding
himself of glamour preparatory to extended service. He is in conflict then with
the whole glamour of the entire plane and is apt to be overwhelmed by a
realisation of what he is facing. This is one of the [207] causes of the deep depression and those profound
inferiority complexes which render some people completely futile or lead
eventually to suicide. Their own personal glamours tie them in to national or
planetary glamour and thus condition their life expression and their thinking.
I would ask you to remember this as you deal with people and find them set in
their ideas and unable to see the truth as you see it. They are as they are
because their individual glamour is fed by the greater glamours, and this is as
yet too much for them.

It is not my intention to
deal specifically with particular glamours but to give you a formula which—with
slight changes and additions—can serve the individual and the group in the task
of eradicating glamour. I would begin by saying that the first need is for the
man to realise that his reactions, ideas, desires and life experience, as far
as his emotional nature is concerned, are conditioned by some one glamour or
glamours, that he is the victim of several glamours, engendered over many
lives, deeply rooted in his past history, and to which he instinctually reacts.
The time, however, comes when the probationary disciple becomes aware of these
instinctual glamours and recognises them on appearance, even when reacting to
them; he seeks to free himself, working at first spasmodically, trying to use
the mind to rationalise himself out of them and alternating between temporary
success, when he can with deliberation act as if free from glamour, and long
periods of defeat when he is overwhelmed, can see no light anywhere and acts
like a blind, bewildered person. This indicates that he is drawn as by a magnet
(the force of accumulated ancient glamour with its karmic effects) into the
midst of the very glamour he would seek to avoid. Later comes the stage (a
result of this alternating process) when the pull of the soul begins to offset
the pull of these glamours: he [208] aspires
to free expression and to liberation from astral plane control. The balancing
process then takes place.

It is during this stage that
meditation is instituted so that the man becomes aware of soul light as it
blends with the inherent light of the mental body, and this blended light
steadily intensifies as he persists in the meditation work. A point then comes
where the aspirant discovers that this inner light can be used, and he begins
tentatively and with uneven success to turn that light upon the problems of his
particular glamour. It is also at this point that we now carry forward the
Technique of Light, employing it so that the vague unscientific technique of
the past comes to an end. The indicated technique is of use only to the man who
knows something of the light of the mind, of the light in the head, and of the
light of the soul. The light in the head is produced by the definitely planned
bringing together of soul light and personality light, focussed in the mental
body and producing an effect in the brain. This focussing process falls into
three stages:

1. The attempt to focus the
light of the mind and of matter in the mental vehicle.

This signifies a bringing
together of the light of matter and substance (dense material and etheric
light) and the light of the mind itself. There is no peculiar or specific light
in or of the astral body itself, for it is only an aggregate of forms, created
by individual man, by nations and by races, and these in their entirety
constitute the astral plane and possess no inherent light as do other forms. They
are not created as a form of expression for some dynamic life by the planetary
Logos, and this is the real meaning of what I have earlier told you that the
astral plane in reality does not exist. It is the phantasmoric creation of
human desire down the [209] ages and its
false light is a reflection of either the light of matter or of the mind. This
process of focussing is undertaken through alignment and by the effort to bring
to a point of illumination the positive light of the mind and the negative
light of the brain and is carried forward through mental control, developed in
meditation. When these two opposite poles are in relation then (by an act of
the personality will) these two aspects of the lesser light can form a pin
point of light—like a small torch light—revealing some phase of the glamour to
which the aspirant most easily responds. This first focussed light is not of
such a nature that it can do more than reveal. It has no dissipating power, nor
can it render existing glamour ineffective. It can only make a man aware in his
waking or brain consciousness that glamour holds him. This is related to the
stage of concentration in the meditation process.

2. The second stage of the
focussing process is produced through the effort to meditate. In the previous
stage, the blending of the two material lights was entirely a form process and
the aspirant is actuated entirely by his personality forces and expediency. An
illustration of this and of its effectiveness can be seen in the man who, from
purely selfish motives and through an intense concentration, focusses his mind
and brings about the gratification of his desires and the achievement of his
goals. He kills out all emotional reactions and goes a long way towards
dissipating glamour. He develops the ability to draw on the light of matter
itself (physical matter and mental substance) and thus he generates a false
light from which soul light is rigorously excluded. It is this power which
eventually produces a black magician. He has developed the capacity to draw [210] upon the light energy of matter itself and to focus it
so powerfully and effectively that it becomes a great destructive force. It is
this which has given Hitler and the six evil men associated with him their
power to destroy upon the material plane. But, in the case of the aspirant, the
power to meditate upon spiritual reality and to contact the soul offsets the
dangers inherent in focussing on and using solely the light of matter; to the
lesser light of matter is added the light of the soul and then these two
blended lights, or aspects of the One Light, are focussed upon the mental plane
through the power of the creative imagination. This enables man eventually to
dissipate glamour and liberates him from the astral plane.

3. The third stage is that in
which the light of matter, the light of the mind and the light of the soul (as
a channel for the intuition) are consciously blended, fused and focussed. The
man then turns this blended light, under soul direction, upon the world of
glamour and upon the particular glamour with which he is at any one time
pre-occupied. The false light of the astral plane disappears in this triple
blended light just like a fire can be nearly put out if subjected to the full
rays of the sun; or a burning glass, focussing the rays of the sun, can start a
destructive blaze. It is the use of a powerful light which can obliterate a
lesser light and dissipate a fog.

All this has to be
understandingly and consciously carried forward as a preliminary to the
technique proper. His work will be experimental at first, and scientifically
applied eventually. It will be based upon a recognition of truth—a truth which
is faced and accepted. This work is not a form of rationalisation, though that
precedes the definitely [211] scientific work I
am outlining; it is not the cultivation of fresh interests of a mental and
spiritual kind which gradually supersede desire and drive out glamour. That is
all preparatory in character and leads to an unfoldment which prepares the
aspirant to work scientifically; it is not a process of "killing out
desire" as some schools of thought teach, but is a process of gradually
eradicating desire by stern discipline and hard trained work and this,
incidentally, involves the dissipation of glamour. Such have been the slow
techniques of the past. Today the process is to be changed because enough people
are now the product of understanding and can work wisely and also
scientifically.

The process I am developing
for you is one of rapid and effective dissipation and is based upon the
acceptance of the hypothesis of light, upon the recognition of the fact that
the astral plane has no true existence, upon a trained use of the creative
imagination and upon the unquestioning following of instructions, individually
and as a group.

It is my intention to give
you two formulas—one for the use of the individual and the other which groups
can use as they contribute their united effort to the dissipation of glamour,
either of group glamour or in relation to some aspect of the prevalent world
glamour. Two things will be apparent to you:

First: that those
participating in the eradication of glamour must be able to distinguish between
glamour and the reality. These often closely resemble each other on a
superficial examination. They must be in a position to recognise that an
emotional or astral condition constitutes a veil over the truth and is a
distortion of the presentation or the appearance of the individual's or the
group's expression of divinity. They must, therefore, be capable of vision,
clear thinking, and prompt recognition as to what is preventing [212] the materialising of that vision and the accurate
reception of the truth. They must also be able to distinguish between a major
and a minor glamour. A minor glamour, a passing evanescent thoughtform of an
easily recognisable nature does not warrant the use of either of the formulas.
Such a minor glamour would be a sense of self-pity in an individual or the
glorification of some notable individual by an individual, a group or a nation.
Time and commonsense suffice to take care of such a situation. A major glamour
in the world (prior to the war) was the emphasis put upon possessions and the
belief that happiness was dependent upon things and upon material good and
comfort.

Second: that the three stages
of focussing, referred to above, constitute a preparatory process. These three
stages must be somewhat developed before effective use of the formulas can be
possible, and those intending to work at the task of ridding the world of
glamour must subject themselves constantly to these phases in the art of
polarisation, if I might so call it. They must have an understanding of the
apparatus of thought, of the creation of thoughtforms, and of the nature of the
thinker. They must be emotionally polarised, yet, in group work relatively free
from astral control. This astral liberation must to a certain extent control
the choice of those who are to work at major dissipations. In the case of the
individual who is seeking to break up glamour in his individual life, he should
be mentally polarised by decision and effort even if the emotional nature is
for him in any one life the line of least resistance. Those working in group
formation will have achieved a measure of mental focus but for the purposes of
the work to be done they will focus themselves consciously and deliberately upon
the emotional plane through [213] their control of
their natures. Workers must therefore have practised meditation, have reflected
much upon the nature of thought and its uses, and must be aware of the light
within.

When these three stages are established
as related activities, habits and automatic reactions, and when the intention
is fixed and the ability to focus has become an almost instinctual reaction,
then sound and effective work can be done; to this work must be added
persistence and patience. It is not necessary, I might add, to have achieved
perfection in the process before starting this work and service. Disciples and
aspirants must cultivate the consciousness of cooperation and realisation that
in service such as is proposed, they are definitely participating in a
hierarchical activity and are, therefore, in a position to render help even if
they could not—alone and unaided—achieve the desired results. They can hasten
the process by their combined help. The power of united effort upon the
physical plane is being realised today on a large scale, and the war effort in
all countries has greatly hastened this realisation. The power of unified
emotion (often expressing itself in what is called mob psychology) is
everywhere recognised and feared as well as exploited. The power of unified
thought is little grasped as yet, and the power inherent in the light of many
minds, rendering them effective instruments in world affairs, penetrating and
dissipating glamour and proving creative upon the physical plane, will prove to
be a part of the new modes of work which will be employed in the new age. For
this, the Hierarchy has planned and worked and it is now prepared to test the
effectiveness of that work by organising a group or groups which will work upon
the problem of glamour.

You can see, consequently,
that what I am outlining is relatively new. The faint impression of the coming
technique [214]
as far as the individual is concerned
has been registered. Men and women everywhere are attempting to rid themselves
of glamour by the power of clear thinking, stern discipline and commonsense,
and by a recording consciously of their relation to the whole—which prompts
them to eliminate out of their lives all that could hinder others or increase
world deception through glamour. To this will be added (perhaps as an aspect of
the new world religion now on its way towards externalising) the realisation
that groups can successfully clear away the glamours which darken humanity's
way to its goal, through the power of combined and projected thought.

In order to make the first
step towards united group activity along this line of service, I present a
formula or group ritual which—if employed by those whose lives are relatively
free from glamour, who are realists and who are recognised by the group as thus
relatively free, and who are animated by good intent—will do much to bring to
an end certain aspects of the world glamour. Their effort, combined with that
of similar groups, will so weaken the power of these ancient glamours that the
"Day of Clarification" will eventually come.

First, however, let me
briefly offer for the use of the individual aspirant a formula whereby he may
aid in freeing himself from his particular glamour or glamours. I will tabulate
the process, and the aspirant would do well to follow it as given, having in
his mind no sense of time, and being willing to do this work regularly for
months, and if necessary for years, until he has freed himself and the light
breaks in on the astral plane through the medium of his astral body. I would
suggest that no aspirant attempt to tackle the problem of glamour as a whole or
seek to dissipate all the glamours to which he is susceptible. He is dealing
with very ancient evil and with firmly established [215] habits of glamour. They are closely connected with
aspects of his daily living, with his sex life or with his ambitions, with his
relations to other people, with his pet ideals and ideas, his dreams and
visions. He should choose the glamour that is the most apparent and the most
hindering at any given time (and there is always one) and for its dissipation
he should work conscientiously, if he would lay the foundations for effective
service in the dissipation of world glamour.

FORMULA FOR THE DISSIPATION
OF GLAMOUR

(For the Individual)

I. Preparatory Stages.

1. Recognition of the glamour
to be dissipated. This involves:

a. A willingness to cooperate
with the soul in physical, astral and mental ways in order to aid in the more
technical work. Ponder on the implications in this sentence.

b. A recognition of the ways
in which this glamour affects the daily life and all relationships.

2. The three stages of focussing
outlined (pp. 208-210) must be undertaken.

a. The stage of focussing
the light of the mind and the light of matter in the mental vehicle. This
is done by a process of lifting up and of blending and fusion, and to do this
the activity of the creative imagination is employed.

b. The stage of meditation
which in time brings about the fusion of the light of matter, the light of the
mind and the light of the soul upon the mental plane.

[216]

c. The stage in which
these three lights are realised to be one unified light—a searchlight,
ready to be turned in the needed direction.

3. The recognition of two
aspects of preparedness:

a. Alignment of the
personality, so that the three aspects of the lower nature are seen as
constituting one functioning personality.

b. An act of integration in
which the personality and the soul are seen also as a unit. This is done
through the dedication of the personality to the soul and its acceptance by the
soul.

These two lines of thinking
produce a field of magnetic thought and realisation in which all the work is
done.

4. A pause in which the whole
man braces himself for the work to be done. From a profound pre-occupation with
the stage of soul contact and initial preparation he now focusses his attentive
mind upon the glamour to be eradicated. This does not involve a consciousness
of the glamour and its why and wherefore. It means a turning of the
attention of the integrated soul-personality to the astral plane and the
particular glamour; the attention is not turned to the astral body of the
aspirant, seeking to do the work. This is a statement of major importance
because in destroying the peculiar type of glamour with which he is concerned,
the aspirant or disciple begins to destroy his share in it—that in him which
gives him contact with the glamour—and at the same time he is preparing himself
for group service along the same line. This will not prove an easy task.